LifeFlight airlifts driver after Lamoine crash

LAMOINE, Maine — A LifeFlight helicopter airlifted a woman to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after the pickup truck she was driving crashed into a utility pole here Sunday afternoon.

The unidentified female driver was the sole occupant of the Ford pickup truck, which crashed into a pole on the south side of Pinkhams Flats Road around 2:30 p.m., according to Hancock County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers.

She was partially out of the vehicle after the crash, so the Jaws of Life weren’t needed to extricate her. She complained of apparent back injuries as emergency workers freed her and put her in the LifeFlight helicopter.

Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Warden Phil Richter arrived on the scene first. Emergency workers were on the scene less than 15 minutes after he called the accident in.

The pickup was heading toward Trenton when it apparently slid on snow, and high winds caused the truck to continue to drift across the road Sunday afternoon. The force of the crash knocked the pole down and flipped the truck onto its roof. Wires from the pole ensnared the truck, according to Lamoine volunteer firefighters, who responded along with units from Hancock.

“Fortunately the wires on the truck weren’t charged, but Bangor Hydro cut the power,” said Lamoine volunteer firefighter Stu Marckoon. “Bangor Hydro got there very quickly.”

The accident caused a power outage affecting approximately 250 Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. customers, according to Bangor Hydro spokeswoman Susan Faloon.

Emergency personnel left the site around 4:30 p.m. and power was restored soon after.